Even as he settles one RICO action, paying 25 million dollars, by insisting, (pace Richard Nixon) that since he is King President there can be no conflict between his interests and those of the state Donald Trump has declared it his intention to at least potentiate if not reify a shakedown scheme that dwarfs any since Rome monetized the Pax Romanum

"L'etat", as the saying goes, "C'est moi"

David Frum has raised the somewhat rococo proposition that Trump yearns to leverage his presidential power to achieve historically unprecedented levels of kleptocracy.

Comments

I thought you read the law, Jolly and would know this was a civil case brought by bottom-feeder lawyers who struck out when they were required to agree to forgo their cut of the payoff.

The only possible RICO prosecution we might see involves the Clinton Foundation where evidence of pay to play activity has been uncovered. Trump is being coy about his plans for 'healing' the Red Queen so if she keeps her big mouth shut she might enjoy protection from deserved justice and the snowflakes will be spared more trauma.

When Trump becomes the new Hegemon i doubt he will have much time for or interest in petty business deals and his children can work the family business while he makes world class political deals.

Actually I think the only thing Trump really cares about is petty business deals. That and the adulation of the crowds. I don't think he cares at all about making political deals, except perhaps a tax cut deal that applies to him and people like him.

I fear that you have misconstrued both the foundation of my remarks and the current status of the case in California.

The RICO claim was on it's way to the jury, thus having sustained the burden of adducing sufficient potentially admissable evidence to raise the racketeering quality of the fraud (which is a separate and less culpable charge) involved to a question of fact upon which the jury must be permitted to rule.

My mention of this was in the context of my "admiration" at the wider manner in which the sheer quantity of Trump's admissions of culpability (cf, already since, the self-dealing admissions and the multiple flip flop's on oh, say, torture))) overwhelm the ability fully to register them.

Your remarks are the best proof that his strategy, albeit founded upon a belief that the public is as addlepated as he, is succeeding.

I see you're still having trouble digesting the new reality where enough voters, including democrats, decided this and other blemishes were not that important but denying the Red Queen with her despicable bloodylust and hubris was. The fate of the Red Queen is now in the small but capable hands of the new Hegemon and picking at petty sores won't change that reality. Trump may even find a use for Hillary if the snowflakes become too self destructive or aggressive she could sooth and redirect their inflamed denial to more productive uses.

As we are seeing the crash of a cult of personality as large as this one is a frightening sight with mass mental health implications. I think the true believers could weather this unexpectes storm but well connected activists and pundits are pushing dangerous anti-democratic fantasies and even violence.

Trump supporters:those millions of hateful American bigots and imbeciles which the Right has spent many years and billions of dollars to shape into an electoral battering ram which is now so reliably paranoid, angry and programmable that they can be told what to think, what to buy and who to vote for...

BTW Goldman Sachs jumped 20% and the execs reaped $800 million the week after the defender of the neglected little guy was elected.

Guess who is going to get shafted to once again eventually pay for the deregulation banking bonanza on Wall Street.

People vote this way or that on the basis of what they perceive is in their best interest.
You voted. I voted. We have different interests and understandings about what our choices will bring about.
The process is more about what is happening or not happening between you and me than the video game scenario you described where avatars battle each other in some virtual place.

Simple narratives are for people who cannot absorb the complexity of their own lives.

It's something much more and much worse than simple narratives. It's false narratives and Trump is the culmination of a few decades of increasingly false narratives. I could make a long list of Trump's lies and the foundation of lies from republicans he built upon but I'll just name one. What was Trump's claim to fame in the political realm? What political movement did he lead before he ran for president? Birtherism. Even after Obama released his long form birth certificate Trump tweeted that it was a forgery. And people believed it.

It's more than economic suffering though I'm sure that's part of it. It's more than racism or sexism though that's there too. It's not just a difference of opinion. At least a significant minority of people believe things that are clearly obviously untrue. I don't know how we compete with that. I don't know how you convince people of anything true if they believe obviously false narratives.

The low information voter can possibly be divided into the completely deluded/gullible/fuhgettaboutit low info voter, and then low info voters who have some appreciation for reality but have little access to or grip on reputable info and arguments. And some pull in info but still vote their party (or 3rd party) anyway, whatever facts & consideration says. I see the middle group as worth making some attempt for, though it might be nice to try to understand/guesstimate what the numbers are, and how much time is warranted chasing these over more reality-influenced core dedicated voters/party members & ensuring they get to the polls.

Similarly, there are some God awful people (the deplorables), and then there are people who live next to them and get their influence but aren't as inherently dishonest and manipulative. Obviously a James O'Keefe is a scoundrel and not under our remit. Those that might believe him may or may not be, depending how rabid and gullible.

And it's worth understanding better what it is about this untrue info that grabs people and any sensible methods to counteract it. (largely presenting evidence to the contrary doesn't seem to help - why not is one of our key questions to answer, just like why is obvious untruth consistently rising from the dead no matter what, and what gives fake-scandals like Benghazi their staying power)

As someone who basically speaks through the medium of running blank lines that combine series of mixed metaphors, I am not in a good position to contradict you.

On the other hand, there is a big difference between using simplicity to break down something complex or drown somebody to see if they are a witch or not. The complexities of the latter form of reasoning are not shared equally with all the parties involved.

I see you're still having trouble digesting the new reality where enough voters, including democrats, decided this and other blemishes were not that important but denying the Red Queen with her despicable bloodylust and hubris was

I have been refraining from throwing in my 2 cents, to give time for grief, but I have to agree with Peter. I read hundreds and hundreds of comments on Reddit, Twitter and Facebook where people were trying to figure out who to vote for. The general election was a real crap show and many didn't like either candidate or the role the corporate media was playing in it.

This was all across the board with life long Democrats, Republicans and Independents. The first real breaking point was the saber rattling by Clinton and Russia was behind the hacking and leaks. The thought of a cold war or real war with Russia scared the bejesus out of them, so they began talking about why they would vote for Trump. As more came to that conclusion, the list of reasons grew and was discussed.

They were also going out side of the country for news because the forth estate had failed. They were not morons or stupid, they knew how to google and use the translator. They could see her health was bad. They didn't vote for Trump because they wanted him. They voted to keep the Clintons away from the White House.

They know it is going to be difficult for a while with the Republicans in charge but they know they can change that later and is a better alternative to war with Russia and the TPP. This was a anti corporate and establishment election I don't see the country's mood changing anytime soon.

I told Mike W. on face book last spring that the country was getting ready to roll the dice for change because it was an anti establishment election. So that meant it was going to be either Sanders or Trump. It actually did turn out that way.

Such a truthseer- tell me how Hillary's Parkinsons gonna turn out. When's thqt indictment that Fox News announced gonna come down? Both Bernie and Donald said the election was rigged - when will we find out how? Did you announce Comey would release 2 blockbuster announcements the last week, or did you leave that as a surprise? Will we ever get to see Trump's taxes and if so, will they show how much he owes to Russia and how much of all of this is revenge for sanctions on Moscow over Crimea?

Glad someone has all the answers - I was about to lose it.

BTW - wouldn't bet on that that "anti-establishment" bit too far - 97% of Congress re-elected, 90% of the House - both above average.

There are only two things Trump cares about, his image and his money. He is obsessed with both, they are as much a part of his DNA as scamming students, contractors or investors or treating women as sex objects. His businesses will always be the first consideration in any economic/diplomatic/military moves he makes as President.

As to world class deals, the Republicans are planning to erode or end government schools, government Medicare, government Social Security and replace them with vouchers redeemable only with for-profit Wall Street corporations. The money drained from these programs will go overwhelmingly to tax cuts for the rich.

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In the News

In the summer of 2016, as WikiLeaks was publishing documents from Democratic operatives allegedly obtained by Kremlin-directed hackers, Julian Assange turned down a large cache of documents related to the Russian government WikiLeaks in its early years published a broad scope of information, including emails belonging to Sarah Palin and Scientologists, phone records of Peruvian politicians, and inside information from surveillance companies. But by 2016, WikiLeaks had switched course, focusing almost exclusively on Clinton and her campaign.

WASHINGTON — Kara Young, a biracial model who dated Donald J. Trump for two years before he married another model named Melania Knauss, remembers clearly bringing up her race with the real estate tycoon early in their relationship. As with so many issues, he steered the conversation to celebrity.

Trump tweeted about his sadness over the loss of "beautiful" Confederate statues. He again equated a man who fought to create the United States with a man who knowingly fought o destroy the United States. Robert E. Lee could have led the Union Army. His sister's son fought for the Union. 40% of Virginia fought for the Union. Robert E. Lee chose to be a terrorist.

Trump champions the "Lost Cause". It is not surprising that he is unaware of why many of these Confederate statues were erected. Take the Robert E. Lee statue in Baltimore as an example. The statue was erected in 1948. The statue was meant to intimidate black soldiers and sailors returning home from World War II. It served as a reminder to those black men and women that white people were still in control

“Our country’s greatest strengths are the diversity of its people and the principles of equal dignity and inclusion that unite us all. There are troubling events planned in our state in the coming weeks. This is an incredibly painful and difficult time for millions of Californians. For those who are wondering where we stand – the ACLU of California fully supports the freedom of speech and expression, as well as the freedom to peacefully assemble. We review each request for help on a case-by-case basis, but take the clear position that the First Amendment does not protect people who incite or engage in violence. If white supremacists march into our towns armed to the teeth and with the intent to harm people, they are not engaging in activity protected by the United States Constitution.

There were no decent people marching alongside the white supremacists and Nazis. Decent people cannot work in the Trump White House. If you support Trump, you support a racist. You are an enabler. If you work for Trump, you work for a Nazi sympathizer, you are an enabler. Jewish people who work for Trump are working for a man who encourages anti-Semites. Blacks who work for Trump work for a racist who is attacking the black community. Hispanics who work for Trump work for a bigot who called Mexicans racists.

There are no decent political people hired by Trump working in the White House. (General staff like maintenance, kitchen staff, etc are excluded)

WASHINGTON — The renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement is off to a rocky start.

The Trump administration lectured Canada and Mexico on the failures of the current agreement at an opening news conference Wednesday morning, while behind closed doors negotiators began to seek significant concessions from America’s neighbors.

“We feel that Nafta has fundamentally failed many, many Americans and needs major improvement,” said Robert Lighthizer, the United States trade representative, who is leading the United States team aiming to overhaul the 25-year-old agreement [....]

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stood shoulder-to-shoulder Tuesday with President Donald Trump, the same man who railed against her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, last week and demanded that the lawmaker "get back to work" on health care."I stand by my man -- both of them," Chao said, when asked by reporters what she thought of her boss's criticism of her husband.

A Los Angeles-based tech company is resisting a federal demand for more than 1.3 million IP addresses to identify visitors to a website set up to coordinate protests on Inauguration Day — a request whose breadth the company says violates the Constitution.